When Mondaine unveiled the Mondaine Helvetica No 1 Smart last year, it called it the first Swiss-made smartwatch. The Swiss luxury watchmaker is now moving further into the world of smart watches with the announcement that it will add NFC contactless payment technology to some of its watches, including the Helvetica No 1 Smart. The Mondaine PayChip will allow users to make a payment simply by tapping their watch to an NFC-enabled terminal.
The Mondaine PayChip is about the same size as a phone SIM-card. New Mondaine Helvetica No 1 Smart straps will come with a new pocket on the 12 o’clock side where the card be inserted. For other watches, Mondaine will offer a strap loop that can be slipped onto an existing strap.
The ‘handy’ positioning of the PayChip™ ensures that a simple flick of the wrist results in uncomplicated payments at NFC pay counters worldwide; freeing the wearer from unnecessary bulky bags or wallets. As a result, Mondaine has stayed true to its iconic Swiss roots by blending craftsmanship, functionality and simplicity with technology designed to declutter and destress.
Mondaine is partnering with Oberthur Technologies for the chip technology. and Cembra Money Bank AG to roll out its PayChip in Switzerland. In other countries, Mondaine will partner with other domestic credit card issuers to provide a similar service.
A prototype of the Mondaine PayChip will be on display at Baselworld 2016. There is no word yet on when the mobile payment service will launch. Perhaps an announcement will be made at the event.
Mastercard and WISeKey yesterday made a similar announcement that will see them bring contactless payments to Bulgari and Hublot watches.
Source : Mondaine